A Colossal Yellow Cave Taking Shape Beneath New York

NYC's East Side Access Project continues apace, and these recent images, taken last month by MTA photographer Rehema Trimiew, show a whole new view of the mind-boggling underground caverns now being constructed beneath Manhattan. From raw walls of exposed geology to this, the space is finally taking on the look and feel of architecture.

Like some unacknowledged installation by artist Olafur Eliasson—known for, among other things, his all-yellow Room for one colour—the results are a colossal, other-worldly chamber populated by tiny human forms and diminutive digging machines. The fact that, in real life, this mechanical equipment would itself be the scale of a small building only indicates the massive and dream-like scale of this place.

The titanic yellow facility is taking shape on the Grand Central Terminal side of the project; its walls secured behind waterproofing geo-textiles that will, of course, eventually be covered over altogether, meaning that this surreal yellow scene is just a temporary state. It is also just one part of the many other, ongoingworks tunnelling away beneath the surface of the city.